The Federal Operations Unit, Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, in continuation of it intensified war against smugglers within the zone has raided car shops in Ikoyi and recovered fifty nine vehicles with Duty Paid Value, DPV of N1.7 billion.

Giving an update of the Unit’s operations in the month of October, the Controller of the Unit, Comptroller Mohammed Uba, told newsmen in the Lagos that the vehicles, forty of them 2017 models and some bullet proofed, consist of Toyota brands of Prado Jeep, Lexus, Hilux, Camry, Coaster Buses among others.

“We shall be very ruthless with economic saboteurs because we have a duty to protect the economy in line with the economic vison of the Federal Government. I advise smugglers to desist or be prepared for battle because we shall not relent in our anti-smuggling operations”,

The CAC disclosed that the vehicles lack relevant Customs documents which the car dealers have been given a one month grace period to provide, failing which they will forfeit the cars to the Federal Government.

Comptroller Mohammed Uba also disclosed that apart from the vehicles, the Unit impounded 6, 206 bags of Parboiled rice, 67 bales of second hand clothing, poultry products, 405 tyres, 54 kegs of vegetable oil and 13 parcels of Indian Hemp.

According to the CAC, two containers with various items were also seized by the FOU men for not only carrying contrabands but also falsely declared to beat the system. While one of the containers contained used fridges, 270 cartoons of refined sun flower oil, 55 units of compressors  and other items but declared as cooking gas in the SGD, the other contained textile of different make and qualities which were deliberately declared as electronics on the SGD.

Controller Uba stated that through interventions by the FOU Customs officers, about N144.5m was recovered from duty payments and Demand Notices on general goods that tried to circumvent the law at the seaports, airport and border stations in the zone.

The CAC, while thanking the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Ibrahim Ali (rtd) for his supports to the Unit, warned smugglers to repent or be prepared for greater onslaught.

In his words  “We shall be very ruthless with economic saboteurs because we have a duty to protect the economy in line with the economic vison of the Federal Government. I advise smugglers to desist or be prepared for battle because we shall not relent in our anti-smuggling operations”, controller Uba declared.